8 Life Aspirations School (Bagua School)

This school of Feng Shui is widely accepted, guarantees the fastest results and the most widely practiced method for activating sheng chi (good energy) in home interior. This “do-it-yourself” Feng Shui School is the most popular theory used by many Feng Shui masters in Europe, United States, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. The Bagua 8 Life Aspirations Theory is a branch out of the Compass School. This school of Feng Shui is practised widely with good results in Hong Kong and later it was claimed to be related to the secrets of bagua and the yin-yang theory. For those who are familiar with Black Hat Sect Feng Shui School, this theory had been further modified to be practiced but without the consideration on directions. But the fundamental is still the same and many Western countries using the method had claimed extremely wonderful results from practising the 8 Life Aspirations Theory.

For those who practises this school of feng shui, they will have to devide a house into eight sectors according to their directions. Each direction in the bagua is correlated to an element (total 5 elements) and each direction is connected to one life aspiration. Therefore, this method is most suitably used for chi enhancement in home interior. Many practitioners claimed the results are amazing and quick, and good fortune associated to the kind of luck they desire manifested unexpectedly. The 8 kinds of luck associated to the eight directions are shown in the bagua above. More details are summarized in the table below.

For those who are interested to know how the formula was derived, one could relate it to the 8 Trigrams of the bagua:

The south has the Fire Trigram. This heavenly quadrant is ruled by the Phoenix. In ancient China, all houses were built to face only the South because it is believed to bring fame, popularity and recognition to the family.
The southwest has the Earth Trigram. This trigram is connected to the Matriarch. The power of Matriarch is often associated to a successful marriage. And mother’s love also contributes to the purest form of love. Therefore, this direction is associated to love and romance.
The west has the Lake Trigram. It represents the youngest daughter or the youngest wife. In olden days, men will take many wives to conceive more children. That is why it is connected to descendant’s luck.
The northwest has the Heaven Trigram. This trigram represents the patriarch. The power of Patriarch is often connected to ability to look after the well being of the whole family and good trading skills with the outside world. That is why it is the direction of networking and benefactors luck.
The north has the Water Trigram. This quadrant belongs to the Black Tortoise which signifies stability and moving step-by-step towards a goal. Therefore, this corner is related to wisdom and career.
The northeast has the Mountain Trigram. This trigram also translates to literary success. And it represents the youngest son where literature success is the major hope to the family. Therefore, this direction is related to Education Luck.
The east has the Thunder Trigram. It is associated to the eldest son, who is going to be the next patriarch to look after the family. The health of the eldest son is also the major concern. Therefore this direction is linked to family and health luck.
The southeast has the Wind Trigram. It is the location of the eldest daughter. In olden days, the eldest daugther are always being the hope of the family for sudden windfall. This is because if the daughter gets married to merchants, officials or the emperor, the family will be able to live luxuriously for the whole generation.

One may apply the 8 Life Aspirations formula to energize a sector that relates to the life aspiration you desire. There are two ways to obtain results:

Enhance the element of the particular sector. For example, to improve career luck in the north, you can activate a water feature in the north. The water feature coincides with water element in the north sector of the room. Alternatively, you may also use the 5-elements Productive Cycle theory. For instance you can use metal to produce water in the north. Refer to the Productive Cycle theory below.
Another more potent method that Feng Shui masters recommend is to enhance the related sector by using auspicious Feng Shui symbols associated to the type of luck. For example, activating the career luck in the north with a Ru Yi or Dragon Tortoise.

5-Elements Productive Cycle
Fire produces earth
Earth produces metal
Metal produces water
Water produces wood
Wood produces fire

In modern living, whereby macro level feng shui influenced by landscape such as mountain formation and river flows are hard to tap or alter, we can seek alternatives in using symbols to produce similarly wonderful results by enhancing micro level feng shui in our premises, be it in our homes or business place. Symbolism is especially effective in practising 8 aspirations: wealth, career, fame, love, family luck, health, education and mentor luck.

By creating an environment rich with symbolism that elicit positive thinking, focused minds, confidence and innovativeness, progress and prosperity will result from the enriching feng shui. We will then become aware of the environment in which the chi had been altered by us, thus enabling us to empower it. This powerful symbolism method will reinforce our energy levels to benefit in every aspect of our lives.

Applying Yin and Yang Concept into 8 Aspirations
The Tai Chi symbol (Yin and Yang) signifies varying manifestations of heaven, mankind and earth that makes up the universe. This translates to micro and macro level of a premise or house. Big tai chi (makro level) represents the whole house, meanwhile small tai chi (micro level) represents smaller sectors of the entire house such as bedrooms, living room etc. In the practice of Feng Shui, individual preferences can be factored in to obtain maximum results. You can choose which corners or rooms you want to activate based on your own liking. Some may choose to activate their career by placing an energizer in the north corner of the family room, but others might choose to activate their career by placing an energizer in the north sector of the whole house. If there is a missing corner in the house, one can choose to activate the small tai chi of the living room instead. It will bring results that are equally effective.

Not all houses are in symmetrical shape. Some may have projected corners while others have missing corners. For those who practise Bagua 8 Aspirations, the effects of a projection will always be positive, because it will amplify one of the aspirations in their life, enriching an aspiration in specific. For example, if the projection is in the SE wealth corner, then the occupants of that house will enjoy tremendous wealth luck compared to the other aspirations. On the other hand, the effects of a missing corner will always be negative, because it will cause an aspiration in their life to go missing. For example, if the missing corner is in the NE literary corner, then the occupants of that house will not achieve scholastic capability. To learn more about missing corners and projections, click here.

This article has revealed the ancient secrets of Feng Shui. You can apply this method of Feng Shui immediately to gain optimum results.